Event to Explore Holocaust’s Links to Modernism

Jan. 31, 2008

The Ackerman Center for Holocaust Studies at The University of Texas at Dallas will hold its first international conference on the Holocaust and the modern Jewish experience Feb. 10-13.

Echoes of a Century: Jews, Modernism and the Holocaust will explore some of the major themes of 20th-century art and intellectual endeavor. Looking through the lens of Jewish identity, 17 prominent scholars will discuss the enormous political, historical and cultural changes created by two World Wars and the Holocaust, including the relationship between the rise of Modernism and fascism and how artists responded to these events.

All lectures are free and open to the public, however, reservations are requested. Over three days, lectures will be presented at UT Dallas, the Aaron Family Jewish Community Center and the Nasher Sculpture Garden.

“Thanks to the support of the Ackerman family, we have been able to bring this international group of scholars to Dallas to share their knowledge and new discoveries from this most important period of 20th-century history,” said Zsuzsanna Ozsvath, Ph.D., the Leah and Paul Lewis Chair in Holocaust Studies at UT Dallas.

The conference begins with a reception and keynote address by Holocaust scholar Lawrence L. Langer, Ph.D., professor of English emeritus at Simmons College, at 4 p.m., Feb. 10, in the UT Dallas Conference Center.

Since its creation two decades ago, the Holocaust Studies Program at The University of Texas at Dallas has established an international reputation. A component of the School of Arts and Humanities, it is a multi-faceted program based on teaching and research that is augmented and enhanced by the support of endowments for the Ackerman Holocaust Study Center, the Leah and Paul Lewis Chair in Holocaust Studies, the Burton C. Einspruch Holocaust Lecture Series, and the Arnold A. Jaffe Holocaust Book Collection.

The Holocaust Studies Program at UT Dallas is a vital asset for both the university and the greater Dallas community. The program’s curriculum examines the unique personal and cultural histories of those entrapped by this event, while integrating comparative analyses of the environments of Jews in both Europe and America before the Nazi era, and the consequences and echoes of the Holocaust from the end of WWII to the present time.

Holocaust Studies at UT Dallas challenges the capacities of participants for both compassion and critical thought as they explore the circumstances of the Holocaust and the impact it has made on 20th-century and 21st-century culture, politics, and our understanding of the human condition.